If I use a 9' tapered leader and bend it on the line how can I attach the attractor to the leader above the "tippet end" so I can attach the midget to "tippet end" of the leader.

I would like to keep the rig at 9' and not add "tippet" to the "tippet end" which would make the overall length about 11'.

I could use a shorter leader and tie on the attractor to the tippet end of the leader and add a tippet material to bring the length to 9'.

Also does it work better to use enough weight (beadhead) when tying my attractor nymph to sink it or add shot above the nymph?

arfishinbear

02-10-2009 02:12 PM

Re: Rigging to drift midges

When I fish midges here on the little red and do a double rig, I ty my dry on to a 7ft leader then add about 1-3 foot fo tippet by tying that to the bend of teh hook on the dry fly.
I like bead heads better then adding split shot, easier to cast I belive and adds a little sparkle to the fly.
Bear

Greenwood

02-10-2009 02:38 PM

Re: Rigging to drift midges

When I'm fishing wet fllies and I get too lazy to add a dropper or rebuild a leader, I'll take a 9 foot tapered leader and nip it off about 2 feet above the tippet section. Then I just re tie it together using a double surgeons knot. I leave a tag end hanging from the heavier part of the leader and 'presto', I've got a quick dropper setup. I can't see why it wouldn't work in your situation as well. You end up with a leader/tippet setup that's about 8' 6" or so.

I know that method probably makes some people cringe but it works fine.

FISHN50

02-10-2009 03:19 PM

Re: Rigging to drift midges

On wets I cut off about a foot of leader , add 8" of tippet & tie on a wet attractor , I then tie a length of leader to the EYE of the wet fly & tie one or 2 droppers off of that. IMHO it tangles less this way. I don't always cut the leader, especially if the water is over 3-4' deep. The reason to use ippets is that they are cheaper to sacrifice when you change flies than a tapered leader. After a day of fishing you can seriously shorten a $ 3.50 leader & with a tippet you can keep it longer & more or less adjust it to fly size......

TnTom

02-10-2009 05:59 PM

Re: Rigging to drift midges

All 3 methods make sense.

(My casting skills leave a lot to desire. Its funny because when I make a cast that I really thought went down well I think boy I sure hope someone saw that one:icon_bigg).

When I have tried this in the past tangles were pretty regular and I know practice is the answer rather than cutting it all off.

I really appreciate the feedback

TnTom

TnTom

02-12-2009 12:25 AM

Re: Rigging to drift midges

With a 9' 5x leader what would be the correct size tippet. What is the rule of thumb for leader X to tippet X

peregrines

02-12-2009 08:02 AM

Re: Rigging to drift midges

Tn Tom-

Generally you want to keep tippet x within 2 "x-es" of the leader diameter to allow it to transfer energy (and get good knots with similar line diameters)- with a 5x leader you could use 5x, 6x, or 7x tippet. If you wanted to use 8X for really small stuff just add a short section of 6x or 7x in between the 5x and 8x.

Tom, are you still in NJ or back in TN?

Good luck.

peregrines

TnTom

02-12-2009 11:55 AM

Re: Rigging to drift midges

Peregrines,
Good to hear from you. I'm back home in Tn. Finished up in NJ the 16th of January. Was really hoping Id be there thru March but budget stuff da da da. But its sure great to be home.

After I posted the question about Tippet I went googling and found a ton of info and I do appreciate your feed back.

What are you up to these days?

Ive considered driving up in the spring its about a 13 hour drive. Sure loved poking around the north east streams and rivers.